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| Brevoortia Tyrannus |
Sometimes I feel like a menhaden (Brevoortia Tyrannus - Atlantic variety) a.k.a. bunker or pogy. It is one of the most numerous and important fish in the sea. Virtually anyone who plies the ocean is familiar with it.
It is not large (rarely more than 15 inches), beautiful or fierce. In fact, it is quite ordinary in almost every sense of the word.
Why then is it SO important?
Well, because its very existence keeps so many other species, including man, alive.
The menhaden schools feed whales, dolphins, stripped bass, bluefish, osprey, eagles, and countless other coastal species. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, the Native Americans taught them to use the decaying bodies of the fish as fertilizer in their crop fields. Fisherman use it as bait to capture other marine species, including sharks and tuna.
Therefore, in essence, without this rather lowly creature, the seas would die and so would we. Its only purpose other than its own existence is to support the life of others - even if it means sacrificing its own.
I see it as a metaphor for my own life. I really don't envision myself as particularly special in any way - I'm not big, fast, or fierce. I don't consider myself handsome or particularly intelligent. Fame and fortune are nowhere to be found in my life. Great love has evaded me.
Still, I give what I DO have back to the world and in doing so hope that I provide spiritual nourishment for others. Like the humble menhaden, my gifts may often be overlooked but they remain essential to the prosperity of the world at large. And, I need to remember that . . .
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